The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned of the ‘chilling effect’ of cancel culture and the importance of freedom of expression during an address to the Society of Editors conference on Tuesday 30 April 2024.
Delivering the keynote address to editors and news leaders at the Society’s 25th Anniversary Conference taking place in London, Sunak said that democracy ‘depends on the ability to air our views’ and that it was important to challenge and interrogate people’s standpoints and to learn from different perspectives and experiences.
He said: "We must tackle the chilling effect of so-called “cancel culture” and the shutting down of people’s views and making people fearful of speaking out because that’s not who we are, that’s not what this country stands for.
“Democracy depends on the ability to air our views, to challenge and interrogate people’s standpoints and to learn from different perspectives and experiences.
“If we value a liberal, pluralistic society, we cannot allow one group of people to say their experiences are more important than others."
Congratulating the Society on its 25th anniversary of ‘championing media freedom’, Sunak also used his address to warn against the threat of new technology being used to ‘peddle propaganda and false narratives’ as well as paying tribute to journalists worldwide who are suffering behind bars in the name of freedom and democracy.
He added: “New technology is being used to peddle propaganda and false narratives. Disinformation is fomenting division, undermining the truth – and journalists themselves are even becoming the victim of deep fakes. We face an axis of authoritarian states…Russia, Iran, North Korea and China who are united by their shared antipathy to our values and our freedoms and are growing more assertive all the time.”
Paying tribute to journalists imprisoned worldwide ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Friday (3 May 2024) he added: “I’d like to take this chance to pay tribute to all those suffering behind bars in the name of freedom and democracy.
“To Evan Gershkovich, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Sergei Tikhanovsky, Jimmy Lai, Narges Mohammadi, and so many more.
“To the Iranian-British journalist Pouria Zeraati, who was stabbed on the street here in London just a month ago.
“To Alexei Navalny, whose decision to return home to stand for his principles, when Putin had already tried to have him killed was surely one of the greatest acts of individual courage of the 21st century and to the men and women of Ukraine who are on the frontline of the fight for the values we hold dear.
“I know you will join me in saying that we stand with them all. And it just shows that our values – and the principles this body was founded on – are more important than ever: free speech; a vibrant and diverse media sector; high journalistic standards and the freedom for journalists to inform, investigate and report, without fear or favour.”
The SoE says the conference also heard from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Frazer MP and the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill as well as panel discussions on the future of police and media relations, reporting from the frontline and journalism and AI.
The full text of the Prime Minister’s address can be found here.
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